Oct 4, 2012 - Relief, Rejuvenation and Relaxation

How about some relief, rejuvenation and relaxation? Sounds relaxing just to talk about it. Come to the beauty surrounding Hot Springs, Arkansas and that's just what you'll find. Forty-seven hot springs flow out of the Ouachita Mountains and President Andrew Jackson, in 1832, set aside land for the enjoyment of future generations and designated Hot Springs the first Federal Reservation. This designation made Hot Springs National Park America’s first area nationwide to be set aside for protection by the federal government and the only...

Jun 19, 2012 - It all changes with the slope of a hill

We battled the high winds across the midwest and arrived in Hot Springs, Arkansas with very little incident. We determined that Oklahoma has the worst roads. In fact, we found when we stopped that many of the people we encountered were very SMIBish and rude. It led me to determine it was my least favorite state in the Union and Gary dubbed it the official State of Waldorf. (Friends in Waldorf excluded from that description). We arrived at Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas around 4pm. We got checked in and headed to our campsite. We found...

Apr 21, 2012 - Hot Springs

Thursday left Little Rock to drive to Hot Springs only 53 miles, staying here 3 nights. Lovely campground & it reached 85 degrees today. After setting up we drove to Hot Springs downtown to look at the Bath Houses on Bath Row there are only 2 left that you can still use, the others are museums, shops & a café. After having a cold drink as it was so hot we walked up through the gardens, they are terraced with hot springs on different levels. Back in the car to drive to the top to go up in the Tower that overlooks the town you could see for...

Feb 23, 2012 - Hot Springs National Park

We found a great camp ground next to the creek on the national park. Lots of history to be found here from back in the early 1800's after the Louisiana Purchase when Americans were sent west to explore the new purchase. Did some hiking around the campground and up the mountain. Drove into town and watched the NPS film on the background of the area then walked around to see the sites. Cyndy had an hour long hot bath in the spring waters which she enjoyed very much. The old buildings in Hot Springs seem to still be alive with history and are...

Nov 1, 2011 - It looked bigger on the quarter

Explored the Arkansas Hot Springs National Park.  A tiny little park split in two and separated by a small town.  The  town is populated by enormous buildings dressed in turn of the century opulence.   We spent the better part of the day in the ornate lobby of the Arlington hotel catching up on email, phone calls and other Internet duties.   Our cabin in the woods has very  limited connectivity.   We did manage a tour of the town, visited several of the (hot springs) fountains scattered throughout the city and strolled the historic...

Jun 6, 2011 - Hot Springs, Arkansas

Greetings, We are now in Hot Springs, Arkansas- childhood hometown of Bill Clinton. We are staying at the Gulpha Gorge campground in the national park. We are surrounded by trees with a huge, spacious, grassy campsite with full hook-up for only $12 / night. This is the rate for seniors with a national park pass. We like it here so much we decided to extend our stay. The only drawback is the hot-hot muggy weather but it would be the same no matter where we went. Everyone says this is unusual for June- the temperature is hitting 98-100...

Jun 4, 2011 - Hot Springs, AR

June 4-Well, another HOT day of 100, so David again did NOT go fishing.Fish do NOT bite in hot weather.But no worries, we went down town, ate at Buffalo Wings for lunch & proceeded to go find this Duck tour thru Hot Springs. The Duck is a boat with wheels that goes in the water & on land. Our experience was comical. First we did NOT know where down town was, which finally asking, after riding around in circles was about 8 miles straight ahead RT.7. We seen signs with these boat on wheels & did get our tickets. Then we had to go 3 blocks ...

Apr 25, 2011 - Walk a mile in my shoes or 4 or 6

Fist things first. Shirley went to the Sunrise service and we both went to the 9:30 Easter service at the Hot Springs First UMC then we bought some groceries and THEN we went for a hike. We were all prepared, had our water, hats, walkin' shoes,camera. cellphones and bug spray. We chose our paths well with the goal to get to the Mountain Tower with awesome views of the National Park and its environs.You know those maps are deceiving...well it looks like a short distance. We are on a mountain BUT there are higher mountain tops. We were going...

Apr 24, 2011 - The tomb is empty

Happy Easter!! I love Christmas but Easter for me is the true Christian holiday. Without Christ rising from the grave there is no Christianity. We are in Hot Springs National Park in, where else? Hot Springs Arkansas. This is where Bill Clinton grew up. We did not think we could get into the campground here because there are only 47 sites but as we were coming up the road we could see there were sites available. We got one right on the creek! We explored Hot Springs by first going to the National Park Visitors center. A tad of history of...

Mar 27, 2011 - Hot Springs, Arkansas

It’s all about the water--hot water, that is. Hundreds of years ago native Americans came to bathe in the hot springs of Arkansas and folks are still coming, though not in the numbers they did in the early 1900s, during the “Golden Age of Bathing”. The springs came under government administration in 1832 under the direction of Andrew Jackson as the first US reservation to protect a natural resource. In the late 1800s private bathhouses were built, some very elaborate, along what came to be known as “bathhouse row”. The hot water, with its...

Jan 7, 2011 - Hot Springs, Arkansas

This morning we travelled west from Memphis into Arkansas. There was mile after mile of large level farms. Many of the farms had irrigation systems, so it must be hot and dry here during the summer but many of the fields are presently water logged. Most of these farms had an abundance of large, new green equipment. Friends Diane and Larry recommended a visit to the hot springs and a stay at the KOA Kampground near the springs. Good call! We arrived here at noon and spent the afternoon walking the original bathhouse row. The water coming out...

Nov 1, 2010 - Our last days in Mountain View

The trees were really beautiful. Of course we're not used to such vibrant colors. It was wonderful. LocoRopes.com also opened in Mountain View and I did 2 of the 3 courses, 2 hours. Which was excellant for me with my MS. I really wanted to finish it, but my body just wouldn't listen to me:(. It had all kinds of obstacles, bridges, tight ropes, swinging logs etc. It was sooo much fun. We will miss Mountain View, but have many wonderful memories and are so grateful to God that we were able to live a little up there due to the low humidity. I...